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India's HCL Technologies has, according to Fortune, the world's most modern management. BusinessWeek says that HCL is one of the top five emerging companies in the world to watch. That's mainly because of a transformation effort that the author, who took over leadership of the $5 billion IT services company in 2005, launched. Nayar learned from talking with customers that what they valued most-above products, services, and technologies-was HCL's employees. So he came up with a radical idea, Employees First, Customers Second, to bring about organizational change. In this article, he explains how he got stakeholders-HCL's founder and chairman, the board of directors, senior executives, managers, and employees-to back his campaign for radical change.

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One small idea can ignite a revolution just as a single matchstick can start a fire. One such idea - putting employees first and customers second - sparked a revolution at HCL Technologies, the IT services giant. In this candid and personal account, Vineet Nayar - HCLT's celebrated CEO - recounts how he defied the conventional wisdom that companies must put customers first, then turned the hierarchical pyramid upside down by making management accountable to the employees, and not the other way around. By doing so, Nayar fired the imagination of both employees and customers and set HCLT on a journey of transformation that has made it one of the fastest-growing and profitable global IT services companies and, according to BusinessWeek, one of the twenty most influential companies in the world. Chapter by chapter, Nayar recounts the exciting journey of how he and his team implemented the employee first philosophy by: · Creating a sense of urgency by enabling the employees to see the truth of the company's current state as well as feel the "romance" of its possible future state · Creating a culture of trust by pushing the envelope of transparency in communication and information sharing · Inverting the organizational hierarchy by making the management and the enabling functions accountable to the employee in the value zone · Unlocking the potential of the employees by fostering an entrepreneurial mind-set, decentralizing decision making, and transferring the ownership of "change" to the employee in the value zone Refreshingly honest and practical, this book offers valuable insights for managers seeking to realize their aspirations to grow faster and become self-propelled engines of change.

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As author Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, points out, it is probably easier to misunderstand his "employees first, customers second" management philosophy than it is to understand it. So in this chapter, Nayar addresses the misunderstandings he hears most frequently as he travels around the world talking about his unconventional approach and how it enabled HCLT, under his leadership, to realize enormous profitable growth-even during the worst of the global financial crisis. Some of the objections he addresses head on: "Employees first, customers second" won't work in difficult times; it isn't necessary in good times; customers will never see its value; it requires large-scale initiatives; it doesn't improve a company's performance. In a narrative rich with anecdotes but reliant on solid business results, Nayar presents a compelling case for creating transformative change, even in a vast global corporation, by turning conventional management upside down. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 5 of "Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down."

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When it comes to transforming your business for profitable growth, where do you begin? For CEO Vineet Nayar, who took the reins of IT services giant HCL Technologies in 2005, it began with an honest look in the corporate mirror. Although HCLT had surpassed $700 million in annual revenue and had a good track record of growth, it had begun to lose market share and, worse, mindshare-some of the company's most talented employees were leaving to work for competitors. In this chapter, Nayar describes what he calls the "Mirror Mirror" approach that set HCLT on the road to change. By communicating openly with employees and challenging them to acknowledge the reality of their company's trailing position, Nayar was able to clarify that the "value zone" of the company lay not in its array of technologies, but in the work of his frontline employees who, in their daily interactions, created customer value. In a bold move, he turned the corporate hierarchical pyramid upside down, making management accountable to those in the value zone instead of the other way around. The result was a complete transformation-and one that turned out to be both profitable and sustainable. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 1 of "Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down."

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If yours is a knowledge-based business, you know that your company's assets lie increasingly in the talent and creativity of your employees. Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, a global IT services company, draws on his own experience to show how a company can focus on its value creators-its frontline employees-to achieve remarkable growth and profitability through innovation. In this chapter, he describes how his company turned the conventional wisdom-that the customer always comes first-upside down. By putting employees first, writes Nayar, you can bring about a fundamental change in the way you deliver value to your customers and differentiate your company from its competitors. This is the story of one company's journey to transformation and accelerated growth, but it's one that can be adapted and applied in a thousand different ways-in any company, industry, or culture. This chapter was originally published as the Introduction of "Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down."

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Even when employees and management both acknowledge the need for organizational change and a culture of trust exists among them, structural flaws can stymie the most promising new strategic initiatives. Many companies around the world try to conduct new-age business with centuries-old structures-hierarchies and matrixes that actually squelch innovation and profitable change. In this chapter, Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, a leading global IT services company, describes how he turned his company's pyramid structure upside down, making those in management and "enabling functions" (human resources, finance, training, and quality assurance) more accountable to the "value zone"-frontline employees far lower on the pyramid who dealt with customers on a daily basis and directly created customer value. While this concept of "reverse accountability" didn't mean that senior executives would suddenly be getting their timesheets signed by frontline workers, it did mean that the company's value creators would be empowered to deliver on its growth strategy. Only by making adjustments to an organization's structure, Nayar explains, does change become truly sustainable. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 3 of "Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down."

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Everyone agrees that leadership is fundamental to a company, yet its role is difficult to define in companies that compete in a knowledge economy. According to Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, a leading global IT services company, the greatest impact of the "employees first, customers second" approach to management is that it unleashes the power of those working in what he calls the value zone-where direct interaction with customers actually creates customer value-and lessens the inhibiting effect of those in top-level positions, thus increasing the speed and quality of innovation and decision making. In fact, according to Nayar, if you are a leader who wants to create sustainable change and prevent your company from periodically falling out of the race, you must stop thinking of yourself and your leadership team as the only source of new ideas. Instead, you must begin to transfer ownership of your company's growth to the next generation of leaders who are closer to the value zone. Only then can you create a company in which employees feel like owners, are excited by their work, and focus every day on change and innovation. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 4 of "Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down."

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Once you've created the need for transformative change in an organization, a yawning gap often opens between intending to change and actually doing it. In this chapter, Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, a global IT services company, explains that one reason for this gap is a lack of trust among employees and management. To transform a company, people must align themselves and work together toward one goal, but this cannot happen without a culture of trust. There are many ways to build trust, but at HCLT Nayar focused specifically on transparency. In compelling narrative style, Nayar describes the journey he and his A Team-100 of his best and brightest managers-undertook in order to reach consensus on their new strategy and foster the culture of trust that would bring HCLT's employees-and their customers-on board. Nayar's story also explores the nature of trust, offering valuable insights for any leader faced with the challenge of organizational change. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 2 of "Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down."

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